Chapter 7: Transmigrating into a Historical Novel 07: Please make Comrade Yu Xingzhou your wife...
When the two returned to the village, each rode a bicycle, but Lin Tingyue's bicycle was so clean it reflected light and looked brand new.
"What's going on? They bought bicycles?"
"Of course, but you'll probably need to collect twenty or thirty tickets for this bicycle, right?"
"Girls from the city are really rich; they can buy bicycles just like that..."
The villagers passing by were gossiping, but Lin Tingyue ignored them as useless background noise.
The two had just arrived home and put their things down when someone actually came to their door.
"Xiao Zhou, I'd like to borrow your bicycle for a couple of days. My son is looking for a partner soon." The woman was none other than Granny Qian, with whom I had ridden in the oxcart last time. She always liked to take advantage of others without spending a penny herself.
Yu Xingzhou smiled awkwardly, "I'll have to ask... I can't make that decision."
Although Lin Tingyue was busy in the kitchen, she could hear what they were saying, so she raised her voice and replied, "It's one cent per ride. Pay first, and you have to pay me back by tonight."
Upon hearing that money was required, Aunt Qian couldn't hold back her smile anymore. "Why do you need money? We're all neighbors helping out. This child is really obsessed with money!"
Lin Tingyue wasn't unwilling to help, but she had to be selective. She could tell from the last time they rode in the oxcart that Aunt Qian was stingy. Moreover, she saw Aunt Qian come empty-handed through the window and ask to borrow for two days. When Lin Tingyue went to borrow a cart from the brigade leader, she even knew to bring some brown sugar.
“Aunt Qian, I think you asked to borrow this because you could tell it was brand new, right? Back in my hometown, bike rentals cost 10 cents an hour and you have to pay a deposit. I charge you in case something goes wrong. Besides, you're using it to impress your son, and it's not urgent. If you don't want to spend money, just ask the brigade leader to borrow it.”
"Why do you talk so rudely, girl!"
Lin Tingyue smiled and ignored Aunt Qian. Instead, she pretended to continue working and took out a basin of dishwater, splashing it out and almost getting Aunt Qian wet.
Aunt Qian angrily pointed at Lin Tingyue and complained to the man beside her, "Xiao Zhou, how can you stand your wife like this!"
"Auntie, with my social class, I'm already lucky to be able to get married. How could I possibly have the right to complain?" Yu Xingzhou felt his tongue was burning when he said the word "wife," but they were now a legally married couple, and in front of outsiders, he would definitely side with his own people.
Aunt Qian was speechless for a moment, and unwilling to part with that penny, she could only turn around and leave, spreading the word about Lin Tingyue's affair along the way.
Yu Xingzhou also felt that it shouldn't be lent out for free. There's no reason to lend out something you just bought for free. These were all bought with real money. What if they got damaged? Having lived in the village for several years, everyone knew what kind of people these villagers were. So he could tell that Lin Tingyue didn't really want that penny. She just didn't want to lend it to Aunt Qian.
Neither of them offered any further explanation; instead, they simply smiled at each other.
Knowing that Yu Xingzhou would be going to school tomorrow, the two readjusted their division of household chores. From now on, Yu Xingzhou would be responsible for preparing all three meals a day. School work was relatively light, and the time spent commuting between classes was shorter than for those who worked in the fields. However, since there was more time in the evenings, Lin Tingyue would help with washing pots and pans, preparing ingredients for the next day, or teaching him how to cook a dish she wanted to eat that he didn't know how to make.
Other household chores were still divided as usual, but considering that Lin Tingyue did purely physical labor every day, Yu Xingzhou voluntarily took on most of the time-consuming and strenuous chores, such as fetching well water, washing clothes, and cleaning the toilet. Lin Tingyue thought this was already quite good, after all, housework is a kind of invisible labor. In later generations, people can use some smart home appliances to free their hands, but now they have to do it all themselves.
Yu Xingzhou didn't care who did more or less work, which made Lin Tingyue appreciate her marriage partner even more. If it was based on looks and future status before, now that their personalities and habits were compatible, she suddenly felt that the experience of transmigrating into this novel wasn't so bad after all.
If they could truly reciprocate each other's feelings, perhaps she would have a better life in this one than in her last...
Lin Tingyue thought to herself, maybe she could take the initiative and at least create more interaction first, otherwise how could she cultivate feelings?
As she was pondering what kind of entertainment activities would be suitable for the young couple, Yu Xingzhou suddenly rummaged through his drawers and cabinets, then took out a sandalwood box that looked like a jewelry box and handed it to her.
"This is..." Lin Tingyue opened the box with a puzzled look. Inside were indeed some jewelry, but the most eye-catching item was the translucent green jade bracelet.
“It was left to me by my grandmother. I was not married when she was alive, so she specially hid this box of jewelry.”
Lin Tingyue looked at the silver earrings and gold rings again. They indeed showed no signs of wear, only some slight oxidation over time. Regardless of their monetary value, these were things left to her grandson by her grandfather, a keepsake, and were incredibly precious to her.
"I can't accept this..."
Upon hearing this, Yu Xingzhou lowered his eyes. Despite it being June, he felt a chill. This was the best he could offer, but given Lin Tingyue's privileged background, it was understandable that she wouldn't value such things.
“But you can wear it at home.” Lin Tingyue took out a gold ring, pried open the man’s clenched fist, placed it in his palm, and then extended her left hand. “Ahem…then please, Comrade Yu Xingzhou, put this wedding ring on your wife’s finger.”
The man was first taken aback, his mouth slightly open, his beautiful eyes trembling, and then his face turned bright red.
"Hurry up, my arms are tired from holding it up."
Lin Tingyue's voice was different from usual, with a hint of coquetry. It even tickled my eardrums when it entered. Yu Xingzhou kept his head down and didn't dare to look, only focusing on helping her put on the ring.
Perhaps due to nervousness, Yu Xingzhou was extremely focused, pushing the ring, which still faintly shimmered, to the very end of his finger, where it fit perfectly.
The ring was thick and wide, with flower patterns engraved on the oval face. Lin Tingyue touched and looked at it for a while, then planned to take it off to prepare dinner with Yu Xingzhou. However, when she tried to pull it off, she couldn't.
Seeing that her fingers were red from rubbing them, Yu Xingzhou advised, "Why don't you wear them for now?"
"That won't do, it'll make a mess when I cook. I'll go try using some soap." Lin Tingyue said as she went to the bathroom. After wetting the soap, she covered her hands with the slippery soap liquid and finally managed to take off the ring.
Yu Xingzhou stood outside watching Lin Tingyue carefully wash the ring clean, and felt a little bitter. He had actually let such a good person suffer with him. If Lin Tingyue hadn't stayed in the countryside, she might have been able to return to Beicheng soon if she had just asked her parents, and continue living a life where she wouldn't have to lift a finger and wouldn't have to worry about getting the ring dirty while working.
He should let her go while their relationship isn't too deep...
While Yu Xingzhou was still struggling with his inner conflict, Lin Tingyue had already cleaned the ring and come out.
"I was just thinking, could I make some handmade soap and sell it on the black market, or maybe trade it for some meat?"
Yu Xingzhou paused for two seconds before asking, "Are you talking about soap? These are sold at the supply and marketing cooperatives. Won't they be hard to sell?"
"Then let's switch to something different, like goat milk soap, specifically for washing your face, hands, and body... but isn't goat milk a bit hard to come by?"
"There are sheep raised in the village, but the sheep milk is used to feed the lambs. If you want it, you have to trade it for food."
Since it can be replaced, that makes things easier. Besides, Yang Nai isn't in a hurry; she wants to successfully make a handmade soap before considering adding other ingredients.
After considering for a moment, Yu Xingzhou said, "If you need money, I have some things that I can exchange for money, but they are buried in the back mountain."
"?" Lin Tingyue slowly typed a question mark, thinking that Yu Xingzhou might be like a kangaroo, able to shake something out of his pocket. "Is he not tomb raiding?"
"No, these are all part of my grandfather's family fortune that he used to hide."
"Why don't we go take a look now?"
"……OK."
So while smoke rose from every household in the village, Lin Tingyue was vigorously wielding a shovel on the back mountain.
Grandpa Yu was indeed buried quite deep. The two of them dug for quite a while before they could vaguely see a patch of color different from the black soil. Lin Tingyue tapped it with a shovel and confirmed that it was a wooden box.
The box wasn't large, but Lin Tingyue was still surprised when she opened it. Inside, besides a few jade artifacts and silver coins that looked like collectibles, there was a gold brick at the bottom of the box. It looked like it had been melted down by her in her early years. The inscription on it was incomplete, so it was likely that some of it had already been used to make jewelry.
It's no wonder that Yu Xingzhou and his son were able to make money in business after the reform and opening up; they certainly had start-up capital...
There was still some time before dinner was ready when an argument broke out at the educated youth settlement.
The main reason is that Xu Xingyi now has a job at the school and can earn an extra five yuan a month, so it would be a lie to say he's not jealous. In addition, as the culprit who caused Lin Tingyue, this sucker, to leave the educated youth settlement, there are already a few people who don't like him.
In the past, Xu Xingyi, who considered himself a native of Beicheng, looked down on many people and didn't maintain many social relationships. On the contrary, Lin Tingyue, wanting Xu Xingyi to have a better life in the countryside, brought a lot of food and drink to the male educated youth when she first arrived, hoping they would take care of him while he worked. Since everyone felt obligated to help, no one spoke ill of Xu Xingyi. Now that their shill was gone, they had been eating only dry cornbread and thin porridge for the past few days, with little meat besides dried vegetables.
These days, nobody's rich, and everyone wants to save money, so the standard of food has dropped sharply. So a few people wanted to persuade Xu Xingyi to contribute some money to celebrate him becoming a primary school teacher, and everyone could have a good meal together.
As expected, Xu Xingyi didn't fall for it and was bullied by several people.
Just as a fight was about to break out, Chen Han, the oldest of the educated youth, pulled Xu Xingyi away, saying, "How about this, Xu Xingyi and I will go to the back mountain to take a look and hunt some wild game."
Chen Han had been staying in Donghe Village for two or three years, and occasionally he would go to the back mountain to hunt pheasants and rabbits with a slingshot. So he dragged Xu Xingyi up the mountain with him. He didn't expect Xu Xingyi, who was like a young master, to catch anything. He just wanted to temporarily separate the two sides and let everyone's tempers dissipate.
So Chen Han was seriously chasing pheasants and rabbits in the mountains, while Xu Xingyi was just wandering around. During this wandering, he saw two familiar figures squatting on the ground fiddling with something. Then, each of them carried a basket on their back and slowly descended the mountain from another direction.
Xu Xingyi had a gut feeling that they were burying something, so he waited for the two to walk a little further before going up to see what treasure they might be hiding.
A note from the author:
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